We’ve talked about the power released in putting on boldness and how to build it.

But what about those times when you face the impossible?

You’ve prayed and worked and nothing has changed.  You’ve tried everything you know yet your mountain remains.

You’re feel scared, hopeless and helpless.  You’re riding shotgun in an out of control car careening down a canyon road with no brakes towards a washed out bridge. [Read more…]

We talked previously about the power of putting on boldness even when you’re scared.

But what do you do when you’re faced with an overwhelming challenge and your boldness simply evaporates?

Every time I’ve launched into a new career adventure I’ve been really scared.  At some point I’ve always faced debilitating worry.

When I launched into pastoring the church, I faced the challenge of trying to resurrect a moribund, ingrown, terminal church.  I look back now and wonder, “What the heck was I thinking?”

We had two small children, heading into a nearly impossible venture, getting paid very little and having just escaped a near bankruptcy with a previous business I owned.

I vividly remember sitting in our living room on the hearth next to the wood stove to stay warm early one winter morning.  It was dark and I faced my first official day as their new pastor.

I felt as alone and scared as I ever have.

I remember thinking, “How will we survive?  How can we possibly build this?”

I’d launched in boldness, yet now felt scared to death.

And this is typical of every time I’ve launched into something new.  At some point fear sneaks in unexpected and grabs me by the throat choking the enthusiasm and life out of me. [Read more…]

We were invited by friends to join them and three others in chartering a sailboat and sailing down the Dalmatian Coast of Croatia.  It sounded idyllic so we immediately said yes.

Jennifer and I planned to fly into Zagreb in the north, rent a car and drive through Croatia by ourselves. A few days later we’d meet up with everyone in Split.

Sounded perfect yet the closer we got to the date the more anxious I became.

[Read more…]